To remodel or to not remodel, that is the question.  If you have owned a house or grew up in a house your folks have owned at some point in your life you yourself have faced this question or had the pure pleasure of going through a remodel.  Remodeling itself is no easy task, myself and our family have been through more than we would like to remember.  Our first house in Naples we personally remodeled ourselves, the beautiful condo in herons watch on 30a we remodeled, one of our favorite townhomes on hotz ave in Grayton beach we fully remodeled (soup to nuts remodel), our townhome in Prominence on 30a just needed some trim, and last but not least the current home on Bay Grove Rd we are currently remodeling.  It is one of the most stressful and rewarding things you can bring into your own world.  Dare I say almost as stressful as a new build!  I am going to take a moment to outline some things to just keep in mind and watch out for.  The first most important part is cost.  Set a budget and stay within your budget!  Plan for unexpected expenses and delays!  In several of our remodels, we ended up needing several extra dumpsters, more material that was not calculated correctly, our own mistake of hitting a plumbing line, needing to pay an additional tap fee for your property, increase of material from original budget/quote, hidden repair costs (wood rot/water damage/etc etc), there is plenty more but last but not least time.  I personally think the second most important part to a remodel is to choose your tools correctly if you are doing the remodel and or choose the right company to complete your remodel.  We haven’t done many ourselves, but I learned to take my time and plan out what we are doing in advance.  Youtube is a real life instructor!!  If you plan on doing your own remodeling, get educated and watch some videos on what you need and how to handle the work!  Plan on using a contractor or subcontractor?  Get several quotes, ask about timing, test how well their communication is and just get an overall feel of who you will be working with for the next x amount of months.  Something will go wrong and you want to be able to talk freely with whom you trusted your hard earned dollar with.  Remember the cheapest isn’t necessarily the best way to go.  Opt for a quote that’s the lowest priced, you can at most times expect the lowest quality product/finish.  At times it’s not even what you first envisioned.  Last but not least, be patient!  Time is very important, but as mentioned above unexpected issues arise and nothing ends up as perfect as we start.  Alot yourself enough time that you can either be away from the house as it is being remodeled or plan rooms at a time to allow yourselves to adjust your home life.  For example, never pull all of your toilets/tubs/showers out of your home at the same time.  Don’t do that.  That’s a bad idea.  Just take your time and plan it all out accordingly.  When it’s all said and done, all of this hard work and additional stress you have endured you will get to enjoy your brand new product!!  Remember, if you need some help give us a call, we have been through it all! (pictures below of our favorite remodel in Grayton Beach)-Gary Jennings Broker/Owner