Homeowners Make it Personal When They Can't Move When Planned

Provided By Realty Times

More than one in four homeowners plan to stay in their current home as many as 20 year longer than planned and that's fueling a trend in personalized home improvements.

The National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) says personalizing spaces is a better alternative than fretting over market conditions that ruin plans to move.

NARI said 26 percent of those surveyed in an online NARI.org poll said they plan to stay an additional 16 to 20 years in their homes because home values decreased during the downturn. Another 23 percent said they'd stay put 6 to 10 extra years.

"This is very telling of what homeowners are experiencing as a result of the recession," says NARI National President Dean Herriges, also with Urban Herriges & Sons in Mukwonago, WI.
"Because many homes have recently decreased in value, people are deciding to stick it out for much longer than they had originally planned," Herriges added.

But that's sparked a new remodeling trend that appears to help soothe those bruised hopes - personalized spaces. Homes that better reflect individual lifestyles are better suited as housing for the long haul.

"Remodeling used to be about increasing resale value - making improvements that are appealing to the majority of buyers in order to boost the value of the home," Herriges says.
Not any more.

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"More and more people are throwing out the resale theory and making specialized improvements that suit their needs and their needs only," he added.
It's not just fancy fabrics, finishes and window covers or a n
ew round of the latest appliances. Think caterer kitchens, real work-at-home headquarters, tech centers, 3D home theaters, art rooms, vehicle collection garages, wine cellars and tasting rooms, mini micro breweries, meditation rooms, yoga studios, dog spas, built-in teppanyaki grills, sewing rooms and more, according to NARI.

The spaces are limited only by imagination.

However, Herriges cautions homeowners to make the customizations an accurate reflection of their lifestyle, not just a whimsical remodeling fling triggered by boredom or frustration.
"Make sure that whatever your adding is going to be something that you really intend to use, otherwise the space will end up being underutilized and make you unhappy," Herriges says.
And if you are already living in you home longer than planned, you don't need any help with being unhappy.