The Cost of Building a Custom New Homes

Ron Lee Homes in St. Tammany Parish is one of the elite builders in Covington, Louisiana, which builds fully custom new homes with spectacular finishes.  Inside or out, these new homes are built with intense attention to detail to make sure that every minute finish is construction with as much perfection as possible.  Many of the interior amenities of custom homes built by Ron Lee Homes are imported materials or custom built materials that are installed by specialty contractors.

According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), this type of new home construction actually trends with national averages in that 29.6% of the cost of construction is spent on interior finishes.  The rest of the breakdown in construction costs are as follows: framing (18.0 percent), exterior finishes (15.0 percent), major system rough-ins (13.1 percent), foundations (11.6 percent), final steps (6.8 percent), site work (5.6 percent), and other costs (0.5 percent).

When calculating the cost to build a new, single-family home, the NAHB surveyed builders with its Cost of Construction Survey and found that new homes built on approximately 1/2-acre lots with 2,802 square feet had a sales price of $468,318.  61.8% of that sales price encompassed the cost of the construction of building the new home which is only .1% higher than the costs reported in 2013.
Interestingly, the cost of the lot and the cost of finishing the lot made up a large chunk of the expense of building in the total percentages spent of the sale.  Land in St. Tammany Parish has a premium price compared to more northern and western parishes in Louisiana as well.

At the same time as this data has been released by the NAHB, another analysis of construction spending says that total private residential construction spending for September increased 1.3% over August spending and 13% year-over-year.  The reason for this increase may also be the increase in the cost of materials as well. However, single-family home permits and starts are up as well, so the money put back into the economy in the form of materials purchases as well as employment is up across the board nationwide – a good sign for the real estate market.

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Bathroom Remodeling – Available in All Project Sizes

Remodeling a guest bathroom or master bathroom can change the entire look and usage of the room.  It can also change the functionality of the bathroom itself as well as the resale value of the house  Bathroom remodeling is one of the most popular choices of renovation projects that homeowners choose.  Nationally, today’s average price to remodel a bathroom ranges from $5,000 – $15,000, and some people spend as much as $20,000 on a bathroom remodel to create an oasis or paradise right inside their own home.

Whatever price you are able or willing to pay to transform your bathroom into a fully restored new room, there are many considerations of materials and projects to consider when beginning your renovation project.  One of the big considerations is to repair and refinish vs. replace the fixtures in your bathroom.  Fixtures can include lighting fixtures, plumbing fixtures, and carpentry fixtures such as cabinets and countertops.  If you need to stay within a tight budget, you might consider replacing faucets and sinks and then stripping and refinishing cabinets vs. tearing out and replacing the entire cabinet.  If you have a more flexible budget, and you decide to tear out and replace; you may also want to consider changing the floorplan of the bathroom to expand it and add new appliances such as a massage shower or a spa bathtub.

Increasing or changing a floorplan may take more time because you are getting into structural integrity as well as plumbing and electrical new systems or reconfiguration, so you will want to make sure that you budget your money and time accordingly. If you decide to increase your floorplan, make sure you used an Experienced Contractor who can help you make great use of all of your space and also make your new bathroom remodel as inviting and useful as possible.

If you are somewhere in between “sky’s the limit” and a limited budget, you may decide to replace old tubs and showers, tear out and replace bathroom cabinetry, and create an entirely new lighting package.  Depending on the scope of the project, this may cost you somewhere in the “middle” range of an average bathroom budget, but you will be surprised how just doing those minimal “invasive” tear-outs will transform your bathroom into looking brand new.

Ron Lee Homes Remodeling has a terrific team that is excellent about making recommendations that will fit within your job scope and budget to make your bathroom remodel the perfect renovation for your life.  We listen to our clients’ needs and then try to “squeeze the budget” as much as possible to exceed your expectations.  Working with a builder also has its advantages as we know how to get “in and out” of your home as fast as possible with as minimal mess, noise, and hassle of living with a remodel while it is happening.  Contact Ron Lee Homes Remodeling today to get a quote on your project.  Call 985-626-7619 or E-mail Info@RonLeeHomes.com.

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Downsizing to Garden Homes

Ron Lee Homes in St. Tammany Parish builds many new homes for couples that are considered baby boomer “empty nesters.” What this means is that we build many garden homes that have less square footage and either minimal or no maintenance on lots that either have a landscaping contract in place or are so small and built out with their own amenities that they don’t require much yardwork at all.  Some of these decorative amenities that we build on our garden homes are private courtyards, storage buildings, detached garages, and even fountains.

Building new garden homes is an art because the floorplan requires an economy in efficiency – utilizing every square inch of a floorplan to maximize the home’s space and usability.  We have built many custom garden homes throughout the 20+ years we have been in business, so if you have an idea of a floorplan or simply need a recommendation, we can design or modify an existing floorplan to suit your home buying needs.

When downsizing from a much larger home to a smaller, less maintenance garden home, you have to know what to do with all of the “stuff” you have accumulated throughout your lifetime.  There are several avenues to take – some include being able to sell valuable pieces while others include handing down the personal items that have family value.  Whichever option you decide, you should follow the tips below when deciding on how to dispose of belongings that will not fit in your new space:

Value Your Valuables: For those items you are interested in selling, you will want to either hire an appraiser or use the Internet to find out what the “going rate” is for your pieces. An experienced appraiser that you trust will be able to give you incredible insight in a timely efficient manner while doing it yourself may take more time.

Appraiser Efficiency: If you do decide to use an appraiser, you will want to accommodate them as much as possible by getting everything ready in advance.  Many appraisers charge by the hour, so you don’t want them to have to go “digging” through your stuff to find the items you want appraised.  Make sure your items are on display (out of boxes) in good light and accessible.

Photo Documentation: Once the appraiser has given you a list to work with for a sale, you will want to take pictures of the items showing them at their best for online viewing of Internet sales.

Inherited Items: If you decide that you want to gift some of your belongings to your children immediately, then you can go ahead and disperse these items.  If there are items that are going to be handed down later, at the time of your appraisal would be a very good time to put in writing those items that are going to be given to specific family relatives.

Giveaways: If there are personal items or important items that you cannot bear to see sold, you may be able to post the pictures of these items to close friends or acquaintances to see if they would like to have them.  Giving your belongings a “good home” with someone you trust will give you much peace of mind.

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