This week, I thought I would review my study of ren-ovations that I have found over the years to have added value to my own and to my clients’ properties. This includes value while living with and enjoying the renovation and monetary value in reselling.

Let’s talk about how to keep your renovations in the val-ue-added category. The first six items, while they may make you and your family happy, which can be good, may not give you a monetary return on your investment.

1. Painting colors that are your favorites, but are not colors that a buyer can relate to.

2. Changing an existing garage into a “finished space.” Unless you are adding another garage, and the new garage is part of the flow of your home, this may be a bad choice for resale. Make sure that you have professional advice here.

3. Adding a new kitchen that is poorly designed. A kitchen ar-rangement that works the cook to death by them having travel too far between tasks and odd traffic patterns that force the user to back-track is a common mistake. This point was made to me by a professor at American University business school when I was majoring in Real Estate. The course was Home Building and the professor was Arnold Kronstadt, a well-known architect/builder in Potomac and Bethesda. Consult a professional kitchen designer.

4. The famous “Let’s have a pool.” I’m not saying it is wrong to have a pool, but in most cases, putting in a pool cuts down your resale value because most — not all — don’t want the extra maintenance. It may work for you, but you may cut the size of your market and your value. In Fauquier County, we also have the costs of opening and closing the pool. In warmer climates, this is not a problem.

5. Putting too much square footage or expense into a renovation. If you are “staying put” for many years, then that can change the equation and make this feasible, but in the excitement of it all, don’t kid yourself about how long you will be in the existing home. If you have come to Fauquier to get away from the hustle and bus-tle of the busy work life and your finances are such that it doesn’t matter, then the decision-making changes.

6. Another “Tim’s Pet Peeve.” Most good builders will and should advise you that a certain renovation is “too much.” Factors such as cost of renovating, neighborhood or style should be big in the decision process. I have seen the attitude, “Sure, we can do that,” when the builder’s answer should have included pros and cons of

making the changes to the home. Please, please keep your mind open to professional wisdom on this.

Here are a few of the “pops” or changes that, over time, have given me the most bang for the buck.1. If your home has no masonry and is all siding, and you want

to add some substance or character to your home, add stone or brick to the exterior addition and maybe a piece or two to the existing structure. If you are adding a fireplace, think stone or brick to give an anchor. Exterior stone has come a long way since I started building. This addition can add huge value if done properly.

2. Another valuable change is a simple one: The garage doors. I just did this to my own house and I wondered why I put it off so long. Garage doors have been improved so much over the last forty years. Composite doors look very real. Colors have added a new panache. You can get them in insulated types that help keep a garage warmer, especially desirable if you have a finished room above. New garage door openers are so quiet that you can hardly hear the door open.

3. There is some controversy about the value of remodeling kitch-ens and baths. I am on the side of “yes.” The caveat is not put-ting too much or too little into it. Plan carefully and don’t get carried away. Unless of historic value, old-fashioned baths with dated colors that tell the purchaser exactly when it was installed are not a valuable tool for resale. Old fixtures and tiles are not pleasant to live with and are not appealing. Renovating this old bath upgrades and cleans the space and cuts your maintenance costs as the bath ages. Kitchens are a more difficult decision. It is very easy to put way too much money into the kitchen. However, if done carefully with a good builder and kitchen designer, it is a wonderful asset. It can be done!

4. Decks and patios: Yes. If it is the right size and orientation, it will be wonderful. More on this in another article.

5. And lastly, my all-time favorite. I discussed this before, and will probably talk about this again. The front door and hard-ware should match the character of your home. Presentation, presentation, presentation. The entrance of your home tells about you and the respect that you have for your guests. It is the welcoming portal to your home life, drawing people in. When I sold my own spec homes, I could tell from the re-sponse as people entered the house that they were going to have a positive reaction to the rest of my work inside.Obviously, there are many more things that can be listed as

choices in the plus and minus categories, but these are the ones that are the most obvious to me after 45 years of building: prin-ciples that have stood the test of time. I guess the real fact of the matter is that, if done correctly, a negative can become a positive. If done poorly, something that could have been a plus, could be-come a detriment to your value.

Here we go! Enough thought on renovation consideration. Take a deep breath — and know that you can do it!

Fauquier Times | www.fauquier.comC4 April 26-May 2, 2017 REAL ESTATE

THE RETIRED BUILDER — YOUR UNPLUGGED RESOURCE

TIMBURCH

Cedar Run DistrictDaniel R. Schwier to Robert Wargo, Woods at Warrenton subdivision, phase 1, lot 19, Robin Lane, Warrenton, ..........................................................................................$510,000

Fannie Mae to Roy K. McCracken, Tower Hill subdivision, lot 21, section 2, Tower Hill Road, Midland, (5 acres), ..........................................................................................$370,000

Hermanson Homes Inc. to Laura Kearney, Heck at Deep Run subdivision, lot 2, 10.447 acres on Sillamon Road (Route 752) near Goldvein, ..........................................$80,000

Gregory A. Smith to James Virgil Vickery III, Park Lake subdivision, lot 5, Park Lake Drive, Midland (taxed as 3.6470 acres) and easement, ......................................$350,000

Center DistrictJason T. Miller to Michael P. Seed, Edgemont subdivision, lot 50, Fallen Leaf Court, ............................................$419,000

Walt M. Sirene II to Andrea O. Baker, lot A, 0.3116 acre, Waterloo Street, ...........................................................$442,000

Candice D. Schneider to Christopher M. Jubeck, Whites Mill subdivision, lot 46, Movern Lane, Warrenton, .........................................................................................$480,000

Michael Shawn Jenkins to Dwight Tippett, Addition to Warrenton Lakes subdivision, lot 168, Nordix Drive, Warrenton, ....................................................................$311,000

Robert M. Western to Jacob Downey, Ridges of Warrenton subdivision, lot 55, phase 2 (Cannon Way), ............$447,900

Bomar Commercial LLC to CD Holiday CT CCIV LLC, Walker Business Park subdivision, building 2 and common elements interest (Holiday Court), ...........................$300,000

Brian R. Bunt to Bomar Commercial LLC, Carriage House Chase subdivision, lot 13, phase 1, (Brittany Lane) and the right to use Carriage House Lane, ...........................$365,000

B R Stephens Enterprises Inc. to Emily Marie Filipiak, Hillsborough II Condominium, Falmouth Court and common elements interests, .......................................$229,000

Lee DistrictFoundation Homes Inc. to Catherine D. Greenstreet, 12.963 acres and right of way, Catlett Road (Route 28), Bealeton, ..........................................................................................$489,000

Joseph Romano to Trigon Homes LLC, 1.1955 acres (residue), together with and subject to a 30-foot and a 50-foot right of way (Stribling Drive) to Route 17, Bealeton, ............................................................................................$65,000

NVR Inc. to Michelle Leeanne Hill, Rappahannock Landing subdivision, lot 11, phase 2, Godwins Landing Drive, Remington, .......................................................$287,500

Arthur Murphy to Richard James Ferguson, Cedar Brooke subdivision, lot 95, phase 8, Reynard Fox Lane, Bealeton, ..........................................................................................$413,000

Danforth-Remington LLC to NVR Inc., Rappahannock Landing subdivision, lot 62, phase 2, Remington, ....$75,000

NVR Inc. to Joshua Dean, Rappahannock Landing subdivision, lot 10, phase 2, Godwins Landing Drive, Remington, ...................................................................$293,000

Robert Fischer by Substitute Trustee to Nationstar Mortgage LLC, Trustee Deed of Foreclosure, Cedar Lee Condominium of Bealeton, building 4, Torrie Way, Bealeton, ..........................................................................$93,150

Pennymac Loan Services LLC to Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, (.0597 acre) on Union Church Road, Sumerduck; lot 2, (1.9506 acres) Union Church Road; two tax parcels total 2.0103 acres, ...................................$200,900

Marvin E. Jackson to Carlos Navarro Gallardo, 1 acre, Botha Road, Bealeton, ................................................$282,000

Earl J. Morant to Brian Zumstein, Southcoate Village subdivision, lot 109, phase 3, Eagle Court, Bealeton, ..........................................................................................$410,000

NVR Inc. to Steven Reingruber, Waverly Station Condominium, phase 3, Bud Court, Bealeton, .........$227,685

Bobby G. Summers, Jr. to Dustin Kim, lot 2, 0.4656 acre (North Rappahannock Street), ..................................$310,000

Marshall DistrictJoseph Czechowski to Margaret Alvarez, Athlone Hills subdivision, lot 16-A, 5 acres, (Post Oak Court, Marshall) and right of way to Route 732, ..................................$550,000

Mark J. Choiniere to Elsie Mainali, Broadview Manor Estates, lot 3, Foxview Drive near Warrenton (taxed as 1.0535 acres), ................................................................$604,000

Edward M. Gilliam to James F. Carter II Trustee, 10 acres, Route 681 (less and except portion conveyed to the Commonwealth of Virginia) together with and subject to the use of a 50-foot ingress/egress and utility easement and road maintenance, .......................................................$207,500

William K. Shand to David B. Strum, lot 1, 10.0013 acres on John Barton Payne Road near Orlean, .....................$215,000

Wayne D. Parsons to Kenneth W. Clark, Bellevue Farms subdivision, lot 95, The Mountain Road near Warrenton, 10.79139 acres, .............................................................$635,000

Master Builders LLC to Erick Kling, 25.555 acres off Leeds Manor Road (Route 688) near Orlean, .....................$150,000

Teresa L. Bazel to Thomas G. Fonseca, 14.87308 acres on Conde Road (Route 737) and Wilson Road (Route 738), Marshall, .......................................................................$215,000

Scott DistrictJames Oglesby to Christopher Carr, Jamisons Farm subdivision, lot 14, section 3-A, Side Hill Drive, near Warrenton, ....................................................................$629,900

Craig J. Anderson to B&R Homes LLC, Sweetwater subdivision, lot 2-REV, 0.92094 acre, .......................$150,000

Guy Delmonte to Genet A. Graham, Brookside subdivision, lot 3, phase 2, Dawn Court, near Warrenton, .........$700,000

Stephen E. Unthank to Jonathan Asa Mills, Weeping Willow subdivision, lot 3, Lee Highway near Warrenton and access easement (taxed as 2.0926 acres), ................$360,000

Michael J. McCartin to Michael A. De Geus, Ambler Vale subdivision, lot 2, Ambler Drive and Route 674 near Warrenton (1 acre), ......................................................$447,500

Pretium at Vint Hill LLC to Ingens LLC, Pretium at Vint Hill Condominium, Kennedy Road, near Warrenton, .........................................................................................$1,312,00

NVR Inc. to William E. Waters, Brookside subdivision, lot 36, phase 14-C, Butterfly Way near Warrenton, ....$610,900

Jonathan Ragan to Joseph Paul Guiffre, Glenambler subdivision, lot 3-A, 1.7025 acres, Grays Mill Road (Route 674) near Warrenton, ...................................................$335,000

These property transfers, filed April 10–16, 2017, were provided by the Clerk of the Court in Fauquier County. (Please note that to conserve space, only the first person named as the grantor or grantee is listed. The kind of instrument is a deed unless stated otherwise.)

Twin Oaks, beautifully renovated farmhouse on 32 acres. 3 bedrooms and 4 baths, gorgeous kitchen with granite, dining room with exposed beams,

heart pine floors, lovely arches and staircase. Board fenced paddocks, 4 stall barn with wash stall, run-in shed and equipment shed. One bedroom one bath

guest cottage or managers house. CU9916003 $880,000

Culpeper County Horse Farm

PHOTO BY IRINA88WIs the cost of this remodel job worth its weight in marble? It depends.

Home RenovationsSome are better for value than others

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