Is it Still worth it to remodel? Yes it is!!!

Remodeling your home,,, Is it worth it?  Yes it is.!!!

The home-sale market has taken a beating in the last few years, which begs the question: Does it makes sense financially to invest in home improvements? Remodeling Magazine's annual “Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report for 2009-10,” published in agreement with the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, indicates that remodeling still pays off, but more so on less expensive projects. Most high-end remodeling projects don't return dollar for dollar on the investment even in a good market. That is, unless homes are appreciating at a fast clip. In this case, you might get your money back due to appreciation. But the profit on the sale might not be as much as it would have been if you hadn't done a high-end renovation. Just as today's homebuyers are making pragmatic decisions, so are today's homeowners when it comes to making improvements. Most of the remodeling projects with the largest return were for such things as replacing exterior siding and windows. On average the cost involved was less than $14,000, according to Remodeling Magazine. These projects returned from 71 to 83 percent nationally depending on the materials used. The project that paid back the highest return was a midrange front-door replacement that cost approximately $1,200 and returned an average 128.9 percent nationally. Sellers may wonder why it would make sense to invest in an improvement just for the sake of selling if it won't repay the amount invested. In today's challenging home-sale market, these improvements may be warranted for the home sell at all if there is a lot of inventory in your neighborhood. Buyers expect more for their money and gravitate to listings that are in the best condition for the price. HOUSE HUNTING TIP: Be judicious about how you spend your money fixing your home up for sale. For example, if your kitchen is a disaster, it makes more sense to do a midrange than an upscale renovation. According to the “Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report,” a midrange minor kitchen upgrade will return an average of 78.3 percent nationally. A major upscale kitchen remodel will pay back only 63.2 percent. The national average returns on remodeling investments do not give an accurate picture of the renovation returns that might be typical in your neighborhood. For instance, the payback for Honolulu homeowners for most of the 18 remodel projects analyzed returned 100 percent of the investment. San Francisco was close behind with 10 projects paying back the full investment. The cost versus value report recommends the following cost-effective improvements you might consider to prepare your home for the market: tidying up the kitchen cabinets using organizers will make your cabinets roomy; add an inexpensive tile backsplash to a tired kitchen, and use inexpensive tile to give an old bathroom a new look; add a breakfast bar by cutting an opening between the kitchen and family room; and install granite tile rather than slab. Other suggestions include: Replacing outdated light fixtures; freshening up the basement; giving the kitchen cabinets a new look by reconditioning and adding new knobs or having cabinet doors and drawers replaced; updating a bathroom without replacing tile by changing the medicine cabinet, light fixtures, vanity, cleaning the grout or replacing it and adding glass shower doors. The findings of this report were based on a survey sent to 150,000 appraisers and real estate agents in the summer of 2009. The survey included information about the cost and description of the remodel projects and median price data for the 80 metropolitan areas surveyed. Some 6,233 survey respondents estimated how much value the improvements would add to the house at resale in the current market. THE CLOSING: Before starting any fix-up-for-sale projects, seek your real estate agent's advice so that you don't waste money on improvements that won't pay back much in your area. Dian Hymer, a real estate broker with more than 30 years' experience, is a nationally syndicated real estate columnist and author. Contact us Cynthia Peeden or Douglas PembertonRealty Executives OC Coastal SouthOCEstates@gmail.com 949-429-7476 or 949-273-0018

Rare shark sighting close to Laguna shore

DANA POINT About 80 people on a noon Friday whale watching trip out of Dana Point harbor came upon a rarely sighted 20-foot basking shark, according to Dana Wharf Sportfishing and Whale Watching.

"I have never seen a Basking Shark this close to shore in 90 feet of water off the coast (of) South Laguna Beach," said Capt. Tom White in a news release.

About 80 people on a noon Friday whale watching trip out of Dana Point harbor came upon a rarely sighted 20-foot basking shark, according to Dana Wharf Sportfishing and Whale Watching. "I have never seen a Basking Shark this close to shore in 90 feet of water off the coast (of) South Laguna Beach," said Capt. Tom White in a news release.

PHOTO COUTESY OF DANA WHARF SPORTFISHING AND WHALE WATCHING; TEXT BY VIK JOLLY, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

MORE PHOTOS »

ADVERTISEMENT

The Encyclopedia Britannica describes the shark as a "huge, sluggish shark of the family Cetorhinidae. ... Named for its habit of floating or slowly swimming at the surface, the basking shark inhabits temperate regions of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans."

The encyclopedia says the giant shark grows as long as 46 feet and "is exceeded in size among fishes only by the whale shark."

Basking sharks are not considered dangerous. They eat plankton.

Capt. Larry Hartmann, who was also on the boat, characterized the encounter about a half mile off the beach across from Three Arch Bay as "off the charts."

"It was amazing," he said. "It took us about two hours to decompress."

"You don't expect to see something enormous like that that weighs about 6,000 pounds this close to shore," said Hartmann. "And then he decided to swim right in front of the boat and had his mouth wide open. He then swam under the boat and popped up on the other side."

Hartmann scrambled to get a camera and started snapping pictures.

"The tail was so enormous that it was just sort of shocking actually," said the 46-year-old captain. "It was nice to see such a beautiful animal."

The noon whale watchers also found gray whales, dolphin, and sea lions on the trip, the news release said..

---

CLICK TO SEE VIDEO, courtesy of Dana Wharf.

Laguna Beach Living

LAGUNA BEACH – After months of 15-hour work days, Michael Weiss was eager to host friends and family at the completed Sands Café at Aliso Beach.

Weiss and a partner leased the concession stand property in March 2009 from the county with plans to turn it into a year-round café, offering a full menu doesn't work.

Unlike a traditional walk-up concession stand, Weiss aimed to create a dining destination. The café would have served daily beach goers, but the tables in the sand enabled a full menu, including breakfast, with a higher price point and quality. With a café, Weiss said he could count on enough business to stay open ten months out of the year. A concession stand, Weiss said, could only stay open 5 months yearly, which would ultimately lose money.

With its custom décor, quality meal choices and family-friendly atmosphere, Weiss said he hoped the café would draw people to Aliso Beach.

"They were going to have a memory to take home with them," Weiss said.

Orange County owns the land at Aliso Beach, which is a county park. After requesting proposals, the county approved Weiss' business plan and offered a lease, allowing for the beach seating area and storage containers.

Weiss continued to work to get the café ready for opening, when a local activist pointed out the outdoor seating and storage containers needed a new coastal development permit.

The Coastal Commission, a state agency which supersedes county authority, oversees any development that could affect beach access or use. Rich Adler of OC Parks said the county interpreted development as new structures – not moveable tables and storage containers.

"In most cases, we are fully aware of all the issues that relate to what we're doing in our beaches and parks," Adler said. "This is new."

The county saw the café as a positive use of the beach that would encourage more people to come. And since the tables would go into storage at night, Adler said it seemed no more dramatic than other day uses, like weddings or a junior lifeguard program.

"We never really thought twice we couldn't do it on our own sand," he said.

Laguna Beach's planning commission, which handles coastal development permits through the city's local coastal program, approved of the café, said city manager Ken Frank. But the storage containers and tables in the sand were another matter, he said. Though Weiss could go back and apply for a new permit, approval is unlikely.

"We don't approve those types of uses on the sandy beach," Frank said, adding the city was unaware of the tables and storage containers when it approved Weiss' business.

Now, Weiss knows his plan to create a destination café won't happen. When he walks through the building, he points out items that are now unusable if the café reverts back to a concession stand – breakfast foods, a convection oven, extra refrigerators, appliances and of course, the tables.

Unsure when or if he'll be able to continue at the location, Weiss laid off 13 employees, two who had left other jobs to work at the Sands. He doesn't know if the business can be salvaged or if the county can help. Weiss estimates he spent $250,000 building up the café, money he thought would be an investment. Though his four children are all under 6, he hoped they would grow up to help run the family business.

"Lots of mouths to feed with no business," he said. "It's a bad situation."

Contact the writer: ckoerner@ocregister.com or 949-454-7309