The Homeowner's Guide to Managing a Renovation
Subtitle: Tough-As-Nails Tactics for Getting the Most from Your Money
Publisher: Sterling
Published: November 4, 2008
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 256
ISBN-13: 9781402727542
Subjects: Remodeling & Renovation - General; House & Home / Remodeling & Renovation; STUDY NOTES - SparkNotes; House & Home; Home Improvement / Construction; Do-It-Yourself
First sentence: Planning, designing, and executing a substantial home remodeling project are not for the faint of heart. Remodeling is not for the romantic, the disorganized, or the undisciplined. Making sound financial decisions about your home requires that you toughen up a bit and become a student of the real estate market, of basic home design principles, and of construction project management strategies.

The Homeowner's Guide to Managing a Renovation is not for do-it-yourselfers. Amateur design and construction can actually lower the value of your home. What you will learn here will help you successfully plan and execute a major home remodeling project using professional designers and contractors. It will guide you through the project one step at a time - from planning, to finding and working with a great architect, to selecting great contractors and letting the job out for bid, negotiating a contract, monitoring the work in progress, controlling payments, dealing with disputes, and enforcing your warranty. 

It will also ensure that you get what you want without exceeding your budget!

The Homeowner's Guide to Managing a Renovation will not only teach you the principles of remodeling project management - it will also give you the chance to work on an entire, complex, make-believe home renovation that will double the size and completely change the character of a little brick ranch.

By the time you finish learning the basics of project management in Part I, you'll be ready to manage Our Project in Part 2. And by the time you've completed Our Project, you'll know how to use this book like a roadmap and you'll manage your own job like a pro!

Learn ... practice ... go for it!
Description: THE HOMEOWNNER'S GUIDE TO MANAGING A RENOVATION: Tough as Nails Tactics for Getting the Most for Your Money, by Susan E. Solakian (c) 2008

Table of Contents

Introduction 

PART ONE:  Basic Principles of Remodeling Project Management 

ONE — Facing Facts:
	Remodel, or Move and Remodel 
	The Remodeling Alternative 
	Getting Started 

TWO — Project Planning 
2.1 Obstacles and Opportunities 
	Do Some Research 
	Get a Good Home Inspection 
	Take a Photo Inventory 
2.2 Determining What Matters Most 
	Uncover Fundamental Problems 
	Prioritize Your Design Challenges 
	Consider Every Possible Solution 
	The Wine-and-Design Party 
2.3 The Master Plan 
	The Task Abstract List 
	Create a Preliminary Cost Estimate 
	Estimate the Resulting Return 
2.4 The Budget 
	Allowing for “Soft Costs” 
	How to Use the Wild-Guess
	Soft-Costs Estimates Chart 
	Setting Aside Money for Surprises 
	Your Planning Is Done! 

THREE — Design 
3.1 Hire the Best 
	Finding the Right Professional for Your Project 
	The Binding Agreement 
	Negotiating a Professional Services Contract 
3.2 The Architect 
	Showing Off and Letting Go 
	Phase 1—Concept Design 
	Phase 2—Design Development 
	Phase 3—Construction Drawings 
	The Architect’s Contract 
3.3 The Spec Writer 
	Finding the 1-Inch-Long-by-0.06-Millimeter-Thick Steel SewingImplement in the 10-Foot-High Pile of Cut- and-Dried Wheat 
	Starting in the Middle 
	The Spec Writer’s Contract 
	Rehabilitating a Dilapidated Downtown Duplex 

FOUR — Pre-Construction 
4.1 Insurance 
	Requirements 
	Assignment of Liability 
4.2 When in Rome... 
	Hunker Down or Move Out? 
	The Deposit Dilemma 
	Find an Attorney 
	Set the Terms of Your Construction Contract 
	Project Files 
	Remodeling Is a Team Sport 
4.3 The General Contractor 
	Can You Act as Your Own
	General Contractor? 
	How Do You Find a Good General Contractor? 
	What Is the Difference Between the General Contractor and a Subcontractor? 
	Contractors’ Licensing Requirements 
	Bidding the Work 
4.4 The Bid Cycle 
	Preparing a Bid Package 
	The Pre-Bid Meeting 
	Receiving and Analyzing the Bids 
4.5 Negotiating
	What the General Contractor Really Wants 
	The Negotiation 
	Closing the Deal 
	The Final Details 
	Assembling the Contract Package 
4.6 Pre-Construction Activities 
	The Pre-Construction Meeting 
	Expect Stress 
	Preparing the Site 
	Anticipating Collateral Damage 
	Permits and Inspections 
	Easy-as-Pie Project Accounting System 

FIVE --- Construction 
5.1 Disputes 
	The Very Worst Thing That Can Happen 
	When the Delay Is Not His Fault 
	Time Out! You Decide to Stop the Work 
	Call the Attorney 
5.2 Progress Evaluations 
	Informal Site Reports and Photos 
	Formal Progress Evaluations 
	Making Fair Assessments 
	Red Flags 
5.3 Changes 
	The Gottas Versus the Wannas 
	Hidden Problems and Obligatory Repairs 
	Discretionary Changes 
	There Is No Other Money, Honey 1
5.4 Payments 
	Deductions 
	Releasing a Check 
	The Question of Quality 
5.5 Finishing Up 
	Substantial Completion 
	The Punch List 
	The Paperwork 
	Calculating the Final Payment 
	Releasing the Final Payment 

SIX — Warranty 
	What Does the Contractor Owe You? 
	What Does the Contractor Not Owe You? 
	Warranty Disputes 
	What Happens After the Warranty Period Expires? 
	What About Manufacturers’ Warranties? 


PART TWO:  Our Project 

ONE — Facing Facts 
	Introduction to Our Project 
	Who Are “You” and What Are You Doing Here? 

TWO — Project Planning 
	Research 
	Get a Good Home Inspection 
	Create Your First Task Abstract List 
	Your First Cost Estimate 
	Set Your Budget 

THREE — Design 
	Get Referrals 
	Make First Contact with Your Best Candidates 
	The First Meeting 
	Concept Design—Assessing the Options 
	Option 1 
	Options 2 and 3 
	Closing In on a Great Remodeling Concept
	Design Development 
	The Design Review Meeting 
	Get a Professional Cost Estimate 
	Construction Drawings 

FOUR — Pre-Construction Activities 
	Administrative Decisions 
	Setting the Terms of the Contract 
	Finding the Perfect Contractor(s) 
	Bidding 
	Negotiating 
	Closing the Deal 

FIVE — Construction Phase 1
	Demolition 
	Setting Up the Site 
	Week 2 
	The Real Surprises 
	The Evaluation 
	Setting Up Bookkeeping 
	The Change Order 

SIX — Construction Phase 2
	Structure and Framing 
	Week 4 
	Progress Evaluation 
	Week 6
	Week 8 

SEVEN — Construction Phase 3
	Services and Finishes 
	Week 12 
	Week 16 
	Week 20 
	Monday of Week 21 
	Week 24 
	Week 28 

EIGHT — Finishing Up 
	Week 32 
	Final Accounting 

Gallery — The Grand Tour 

Appendix — The Contract 

Index
Notes: EXCERPT especially for bloggers...


"Holding Building Contractors to Their Promises:
The Reiterate-and-Confirm Letter"

an excerpt from the new book
THE HOMEOWNER'S GUIDE TO MANAGING A RENOVATION: 
Tough-As-Nails Tactics for Getting the Most from Your Money
by Susan Solakian
Published by Sterling
Reprinted here with permission.

Did you know that you can create a binding agreement without securing the other party's signature? A simple letter that I call a "reiterate-and-confirm letter," something attorneys call a "rebuttable presumption," restates your verbal agreement and asks the other party to notify you if he thinks your written affirmation is not correct. If he doesn't contradict you in writing, you've got an agreement that will stand up in court.

Below is a sample reiterate-and-confirm letter. It consists of a standard introduction and a standard closing paragraph that make this letter a contract. The body of the letter is what sets the terms of the agreement between you and the other party (the scope of work, the cost, and the schedule), and it is the way you express the terms of the agreement that determines whether or not you will get what you want.

NOTE: A telephone response from the contractor is not the same as a written response. If the contractor calls to object to the arrangement you are proposing, remind him to follow up with a letter within five business days or your letter will still constitute a formal agreement. 
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SAMPLE REITERATE-AND-CONFIRM LETTER

FROM:
Property Owner
Mailing Address

DATE

TO:
Contractor
Company Name
Mailing Address

RE: The Renovation of (Project Address)

(The Subject of the Agreement, e.g., Plumbing Leaks)

Dear (Contractor Name),

[Standard Opening] To reiterate and confirm our conversation of (date), the following is for the record:

(Describe the scope of work.) There is a leak in the new plumbing under the house, near the second bathroom.

(Describe when the contractor will take action.) You have promised to bring the plumbing subcontractor back early next week to make a repair.

(State what cost or credit you've agreed to.) There will be no charge for this repair work, because the repair represents a correction of work that is included in the contract.

[Standard Closing] If this is not in accordance with your understanding, please notify me in writing within five business days. In the absence of such notification, this letter will constitute a formal agreement between us.

Sincerely,
Property Owner's Signature
Property Owner's Name
Contact Phone Number
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Susan E. Solakian began her construction/renovation career at The Ehrenkrantz Group PC, a commercial architecture firm in Manhattan, where she was responsible for renovating the firm's offices. She followed her new-found passion to a job at the third largest construction-consulting firm in the world where, as the only woman among 250 male project managers, she headed many major renovations.

After finishing a $350 million project, Solakian relocated to North Carolina, where she was hired as Housing Program Coordinator for the City of Raleigh. In that role she was responsible for oversight of all residential renovation projects within the city limits that used public funds, including managing a $2.3 million HUD-funded housing rehab program, providing remodeling coaching to 40 to 60 income-qualified homeowners each year. She was responsible for the top to bottom renovation of over 400 homes located in targeted areas of the city, from stately Victorians to 1970s brick ranches, to dilapidated, hand-built bungalows.

In 2001, she started her own business, Renovations Consulting, offering classes and seminars, often sponsored by Home Depot, UBuildIt, and other industry giants, to private and corporate clients alike. Her weekend-long Remodeling Master Class gets rave reviews.

 
__________________________________________________

ABOUT THE BOOK

THE HOMEOWNER'S GUIDE TO MANAGING A RENOVATION: 
Tough-As-Nails Tactics for Getting the Most from Your Money
by Susan Solakian
Published by Sterling
(ISBN 978-1402727542, 288 pages, paperback, $19.95)
Available through bookstores or directly from the publisher:
http://www.sterlingpublishing.com/catalog?isbn=9781402727542

"What the author promises and delivers is an extraordinarily thorough description of how to manage a substantial, residential remodel, from hiring a home inspector to uncover potential surprises, to succeeding with the final punch list."
-- Booklist (Starred Review)

"The Homeowner's Guide to Managing a Renovation" will be your guardian angel from the time you make the first list of what you want to change, until you write the final check to the contractor, by providing all of the information and encouragement you need to tackle even the most complex project. In simple language, with hundreds of color photos and even the option to practice your new skills on an entire make-believe project, you will learn how careful planning (which costs you nothing) can make your work with the designer less expensive and more productive, and how getting a great design will get you even more than you dreamed of from the contractor, without compromise or dispute.

Learn what you can do before you even meet with the designer that will slash your costs for the remainder of the project. Learn how to find great designers and contractors in your area. Learn how to create enforceable contracts for professional services, and how to create a contract that doesn't require the signature of the other party! Learn what the contractor really wants - it's not just your money. Learn how to ensure that the project gets completed on time and to your standards. Learn what to do if you suspect something is going wrong. Learn all this and much more in the "Homeowner's Guide to Managing a Renovation: Tough as Nails Tactics for Getting the Most from Your Money."
__________________________________________________

Copyright (C) 2008 by Susan Solakian. All Rights Reserved. Please feel free to duplicate or distribute this file as long as the contents are not changed and this copyright notice is intact. Thank you.