I am often asked many questions before a home remodel, but the one that comes up most often is "How much will my remodel cost?". The answer to how much your home remodel will cost depends on a variety of factors including material costs, the size of your home remodel and how well your home can blend with your desired design outcome. The best advice I would give a customer is to come up with a budget and general design idea and ask a contractor in your area if this remodeling project can be done for your budget amount. You may want to also ask if your project may go over your budget slightly and if so, by how much? These costs can also depend on changes you will most likely want during your project.In retrospect you should never expect a contractor to give you a "ball park" figure on a large project, as from the time that a "ball park" figure is given until the time that design concepts are built, the price will most likely increase dramatically. Your contractor should obtain the correct information as far as design concepts, measurements, and sometimes an architect' preliminary drawings for larger projects. Your contractor will charge a minimal fee for these things. Once your cost is estimated you may wish to change certain parts of your project to meet the budget that you have allowed to spend.
Second question " can I recover my home remodeling investment" -- No one, not even your contractor, can guarantee any return on investment for any home remodel. At best, its an educated guess from past experience; but as we all know real estate prices can change drastically for many reasons. However, when you purchase a property you should look at the value of the homes in your neighborhood and the longevity of the value. Your real estate professional will help you by providing you with comps for that neighborhood that will help you to make the decision whether a remodel project will at least hold its value.
Thirdly "can I cut costs by doing some of the work myself". There are few processes in construction that customers can perform themselves to save money. Some are minimal constructive demolitions, clean-ups including removal of waste generated from project, and painting. Otherwise unless you are a construction professional yourself you should let your contractor handle most of the construction processes.
