Abe wrote:

We should be closing on our new/first home in a few weeks. 1950's ranch in
upstate NY. I was thinking it could be a good idea to have an architect
draw up plans for remodeling/additions, as sort of a master plan we could
chip away at over the years, and also to avoid making changes then
realizing we should have done A differently in order to accommodate B,
etc. Any idea how much that kind of thing would cost?

If you are planning on doing that much remodeling, then you have made a bad
purchase. The house will cost you twice as much as it should have in the
long run.
It will probably also be too expensive for the neighborhood, and will have
poor resale value.

Not always true. It depends on the house and the neighborhood.

I bought the crappiest house in a very good neighborhood for a VERY
good price at the time (it was a ******** when I bought it, but had
the basic floorplan that I liked). I did the demo mostly myself, and
put alot of sweat equity into the update/remodel. For $46k I got a
$135k remodel, and now the house is slightly above par to the rest of
the block.

If I ever sell, that strategy will result in an extra 89k straight in
my pocket.


Hi,
Rarely it happens like that. It reminds me of saying, "Small house
in good neighborhood is better than big house in bad neighborhood.
House with view is worth lot more, location, location, location!"