Other things to consider, our project took 8 months and although possible to live there, you will likely want to live somewhere else. Also, it is very hard to find a good house to renovate in the more desirable areas. Close in Bethesda (both inside and outside the beltway), Chevy Chase, and even Kensington ones go pretty fast as there seems to be a lot of people having similar thoughts on buying a fixer upper to renovate, especially builders who usually have all cash offers.

PP here, our price did not include our architect fees

We did something very similar and it was about $340k. included four new bathrooms (only 3 full and one was in an existing location), new kitchen, laundry room, master bedroom and guestroom, mudroom, build-ins, all new hardwood floors and a dug out basement (unfinished) and deck. Added square footage was about 1800 including basement but we also redid almost all of the existing house as well (apx 1500 including basement). Upper mid range finishes. Got a construction loan. Sandy Spring bank is a good local bank and I know our agent gave us a few other local ones as well. We used Wells Fargo but I would NOT recommend them.

Anonymous wrote:PP - why do you care if its all house and no yard? stop being a noodge! If it does not adversley affect your property then MYOB.

Our house is on an incline above this house (the houses are back to back). With their reno expanding the upper level of their house and pushing to the back of the lot, I'd say it does adversely affect our property. We'll have the distinct pleasure of looking right into their new upper level.

Anonymous wrote:We are looking in the close-in MD 'burbs (mostly Bethesda) and are having trouble finding anything we like in our price range $1M-$1.2 (houses where we are looking seem to either be less expensive and smaller or much bigger and much more expensive). We're now thinking about possibly buying something smaller and renovating. We'd likely buy a small-ish house and do the typical new kitchen/family room/master suite addition in the back of the house. Possibly also we'd dig out the basement. This seems pretty standard but I'm wondering what the range of pricing looks like. Curious if anyone here has done something similar and how much it was. Also, any tips? Things you wish you'd thought of when buying the house to renovate? Things you wouldn't do this time around? Thanks.

Just about to do a new kitchen, master bath addition with other smaller renovations. Got three bids. The lowest was $450k the highest was $550k. Add Architect fees on top of that, about $50k. Plus engineer's fees $6k. Plus all the other stuff you forget about, permit fees, increased electricity and water costs. All in, between $500k to $575k.

PP - why do you care if its all house and no yard? stop being a noodge! If it does not adversley affect your property then MYOB.

Anonymous wrote:Before you buy the place look at the regulations for the size lot, amount of home already under roof and what % you can add to it. The rules have changed a lot in the past few years and you can't just throw an addition on. Most people start by talking to an architect or builder. The first step should be to get a survey done, you will need it should you move forward with the construction but it saves you a lot of time and money when you have to change your plans.

Having the survey give you the building envelope you are working with. The architect or builder can’t tell crap from looking at your plat but they will tell you they can.

The second step should be talk to your financial planner, 3rd is the bank.

How can you tell if your neighbor has followed the regulations? Our neighbors in close-in Bethesda have started a renovation and it is ridiculous; it will be all house/no yard when they're done. Is it possible to find out if they are overbuilding the lot. Our house overlooks the yard (soon to be the newly renovated bump out) and I'd like to know that they have followed all the appropriate regulations. I know you can't regulate taste but maybe we can regulate setbacks and the like.

OP -
How do you plan to fund the project? It is my understanding that "construction loans" are hard to impossible to come by these days....meaning you have to use your own cash which defeats the purpose - right?

Anonymous wrote:We are looking in the close-in MD 'burbs (mostly Bethesda) and are having trouble finding anything we like in our price range $1M-$1.2 (houses where we are looking seem to either be less expensive and smaller or much bigger and much more expensive). We're now thinking about possibly buying something smaller and renovating. We'd likely buy a small-ish house and do the typical new kitchen/family room/master suite addition in the back of the house. Possibly also we'd dig out the basement. This seems pretty standard but I'm wondering what the range of pricing looks like. Curious if anyone here has done something similar and how much it was. Also, any tips? Things you wish you'd thought of when buying the house to renovate? Things you wouldn't do this time around? Thanks.

We added a 3 story addition to our Bethesda home. Basement on 1st level, den/kitchen extensionon 2nd level, and master suite on 3rd level. 400 sq ft. x 3 levels. Nice finishes. 225 K. Very happy with the results.

Before you buy the place look at the regulations for the size lot, amount of home already under roof and what % you can add to it. The rules have changed a lot in the past few years and you can't just throw an addition on. Most people start by talking to an architect or builder. The first step should be to get a survey done, you will need it should you move forward with the construction but it saves you a lot of time and money when you have to change your plans.

Having the survey give you the building envelope you are working with. The architect or builder can’t tell crap from looking at your plat but they will tell you they can.

The second step should be talk to your financial planner, 3rd is the bank.

And you should definitely consider digging out the basement, even if you don't finish it now. Once the addition is up, digging it out would be cost prohibitive in the future.

We recently did exactly what you described, including digging out the basement, in close-in MoCo and it cost around $375,000. We used moderate to high-end finishes, but not super high-end and did some things to the existing house, like updating the powder room, refinishing all the floors, painting and replacing the roof. We received multiple bids for the job and they were all around the same amount.

Use a reputable construction company. I know people who have gone with the lower bidder, only to be stuck in construction hell for a year and a half. A reputable builder should be able to do this kind of project in 6 months. Also, don't forget to factor in costs like landscaping (when they bring in the equipment to dig out the basement and lay the foundation, most of your yard will be torn up), carpet for areas like the basement or a runner up the stairs, window treatments, rent/accommodations for the time period when the house is a construction zone- when you factor in these items, the actual cost of our project was well over $400,000.

We recently added about 1,200 SF (family room and master suite upstairs) to a 1,400 SF home, but did not change any kitchen configuration (just updated cabinets and appliances). $250,000. Would have been about $50k more to dig out and finish the basement underneath the addition.

$250 - $350 K

A lot depends on finishes you choose, how many baths, etc. I imagine digging out the basement would add a lot

This makes sense if you can get a location you want.

We are looking in the close-in MD 'burbs (mostly Bethesda) and are having trouble finding anything we like in our price range $1M-$1.2 (houses where we are looking seem to either be less expensive and smaller or much bigger and much more expensive). We're now thinking about possibly buying something smaller and renovating. We'd likely buy a small-ish house and do the typical new kitchen/family room/master suite addition in the back of the house. Possibly also we'd dig out the basement. This seems pretty standard but I'm wondering what the range of pricing looks like. Curious if anyone here has done something similar and how much it was. Also, any tips? Things you wish you'd thought of when buying the house to renovate? Things you wouldn't do this time around? Thanks.