So you are considering spending substantial money to add and remodel your current home. But should you? Or would it be better to tear down the house and start over? What guidelines are there to make a decision?

You bought the house because it had a great view or you really loved the location for whatever reason. But the house is too small for your family. Or the house is too small for the value of the land. Or you bought the house already built but it looks dated and is not entirely to your liking.

What is the first topic to analyze?

The first is the 50% rule that applies to homes in flood-prone areas like South Florida. The 50% rule is a federal law, which says that if you design a “substantial” remodel or addition to a home, then the ground floor of the home must meet the base flood elevation. A substantial remodel is defined as an addition and / or remodel that costs 50% or more than the cost of the existing home.

Since many homes in South Florida, particularly around Miami Beach, Key Biscayne, and other Florida coastal areas, were originally built prior to the regulation of base floor elevations, many of the lower floors of the homes in these areas are below the base flood elevation. .

For example, the base flood elevation for Hibiscus Island, part of Miami Beach, is 10′-0 “NGVD. Many houses on this island were originally built many years ago at approximately 6′-0” NGVD. So if a two-story house had to be brought up to the base flood elevation, the house would have to be destroyed. The floor cannot be raised 4′-0 “and the second floor stays where it is. In a one-story home, it means that essentially a second floor would have to be added at the new base flood elevation and the floor original abandoned.

To conclude this issue, then, if the addition you intend to build or the remodel you intend to undertake is more than 50% of the cost of the original house, many times it would be better to tear down the existing house and build one. brand new house. On the other hand, if the cost of the current home is high, and the addition or remodel can be built for less than 50% of the cost of the original home, then this addition and / or remodel is possible.

What is the second issue that needs to be analyzed?

Is the house on a septic tank or sewer line? Is it in city water or well water? Unless you have a very large batch, the combination of well water with a septic tank is very detrimental to a viable addition. In Miami-Dade County, a new septic tank must be within 100 feet of any water well, whether it’s your own, your neighbor’s, or a public well. Any consequential addition to a home that has been there for 20 years will almost always require a new septic tank. If your current home is close to your neighbors’ water wells, you need to make sure that the new septic tank is the required distance from those existing water wells. If your current home has well water and a new water line has recently been located on the street in front of your home or in close proximity, any substantial additions will require you to connect to the water line. The same would happen with a sewer line. Any of these could add substantial costs to the addition depending on the distance from the home to the connection and whether the connection is in the middle of a public street. If these conditions end up costing so much that it becomes a disproportionate part of the budget, then it may be best to leave this house alone, maybe even sell it, and then build a new house where conditions are better for construction.

What is the third issue that needs to be analyzed?

The third is that the problem is less technical, but equally important, probably the most important. Is the existing plan something that can be easily added or remodeled? Does the current plan work? Once I locate the new addition, will the existing ceilings still work with the new space? Homeowners often think that they can add items to either side of the home without regard for ceilings. The ideal situation would be for the existing plan to be such that it can be easily added and furthermore in a way that still allows roofs to drain rainwater away from the center of the house and outside walls.

Before considering an addition, the floor plan should be scanned for wasted space. Old houses often have spaces that can be adapted for new uses. This option will almost always be less expensive than any addition to the home.

Consideration of these three topics will go a long way in giving you clues on whether to tear down and start over, sell the house, or add it to the house or remodel it.