Here’s How To Save Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars On A Bigger Home in Niceville:

In Brief:

Parents Lisa Pitell, Eric Hambright, and Brittany Lynch, whose children have Autism, initiated the Ground Up Project to create a facility in central Okaloosa County for adults with Autism, providing full-time assistance and a centralized hub for services.
The project aims to address the challenges faced by adults with Autism as they age out of the system, offering housing and support tailored to their needs, including specialized care and community integration.
Fundraising efforts, such as the upcoming 5K race on June 29 at 7 AM on White Point Road in Bluewater Bay, are underway to support the development of the facility and make a meaningful impact in the Autism community.

This story is sponsored by Rominger’s Renovations – a Niceville, Veteran-Owned Business.

According to real estate website Redfin.com, the median sale price for a home in Niceville has increased 50 percent, from $271,000 in March 2020 to $435,000—even with a 25 percent drop from last year.

When you price an additional five percent prime interest rate on a loan for a new house, many people in our area have written off buying a new or bigger home.

For example, you bought a $300,000 home in Niceville when the pandemic hit in March 2020. Your monthly payment would be $1,044 on a $240,000 loan. Don’t worry, we made a graphic!

Graph of the median sale price in Niceville, FL

If you wanted to buy the same house today – it would cost you about $450,000. If you still put 20 percent down (an extra $30,000 in cash), you’d have a monthly payment of $2,768 – a monthly payment of $1,700 higher for the same house.

Don’t worry! You can still have the home of your dreams – even if you can’t afford an additional $1,700 (or more) a month on a mortgage payment.

Adding to a house or renovating a bathroom is likely your best option in the short to medium term – especially with housing costs in the Niceville, Valparaiso, and Bluewater Bay area if you don’t need to move elsewhere.

Renovate, especially if you work from home.

Even if you live in a ranch-style home built in the 1970s and 1980s, which are everywhere in Niceville, you can update it to sell for significantly more—or make it easier for you to work or even run a business from home.

If you are working with segmented rooms, passé bathrooms, and kitchens, you may get some people to look over diamonds in the rough. Think open floor plans and thoughtfully crafted and purpose-built home offices. A renovation can bring a 10-15 increase in the home’s value per square foot.

If you want to sell, remote workers will seek out and pay more for houses with rooms that meet their needs. Those requirements mean buyers will pay a premium for a house with a home office – especially as more and more people relocate to Niceville and the rest of the Sunshine State every year. According to US Census Data – almost ten percent of workers in Okaloosa County work from home – an surprisingly high number, considering how many jobs require security clearance and access to a secure facility (Eglin Air Force Base) or physical presence in Destin (Tourism).

Even if you aren’t looking to sell, a renovation can improve your quality of life and allow you to maximize the square footage you have in your home. For people who work from home, you might already live and work in the perfect place; it just isn’t optimized.

“Having a dedicated home office space that allows you to isolate yourself and get work done is key,” says Rominger’s Renovations owner Heath Rominger. Working from home is so popular now—especially post-pandemic. People have realized they can work from anywhere, especially in a home resigned to balance work and family. We don’t have a lot of houses here that are ready-made for a work-from-home environment, even the newer homes.”

Rominger’s Renovations specializes in working with homeowners to create the home office – and home – that works for work from homers – and their families.

“Having that space you can retreat to and focus on getting quality work done, but also allows the family to still function in the house, is invaluable and leads to a much higher quality of life than commuting to an office, or having the kids walk in on a high stakes business call,” Rominger added, “There’s a lot to gain from a well-done home office renovation. It’s a good investment all around.”

What Does It Cost To Renovate A Home In Niceville?

The short answer is that it depends on what you want to do specifically.

Want to update a shower or bathroom? You’ll need something around $15,000 to $25,000.

Want to add an 800-square-foot wing to the house that adds one or two bedrooms and a bathroom or an office? You need about $120,000 to $150,000.

How Long Will A Renovation Take for a House in Niceville?

Again, it will depend on some factors that can be controlled and some that can’t.

The size of a renovation definitely matters. Again, for a shower update – you are looking at a couple of weeks from start to finish. If you want to update a wing of the house – you are looking anywhere from six months to a year which includes engineering (plans) along with a design phase and product selection.

Almost all big projects take less than eight months. Rominger says his team has the secret sauce to their top-tier performance, which keeps them on the job site for less time. “I can’t do this without my awesome team,” Rominger said with a smile. We want to get the job done so that it’s top-quality and has the smallest impact possible on our clients’ daily lives. We want everyone to go, ‘Wow,’ this is exactly what I wanted.”

The Rominger’s Renovations team excels at keeping time on site down thanks to their process-driven organization. The maven keeping timetables straight and madness from the door is Patreece Hinely-Early. She and her back office staff orchestrate every detail from ordering the shower head to ensuring everyone has the optimal amount of caffeine available all day. “It’s fun to see everything come together on a project. I love to see pictures from a happy homeowner and know that we made it happen better and faster because we kept our team supplied and moving in the right direction.

While, in a perfect world, you would move out of the home for the duration of a major renovation, that’s not always possible. The team at Rominger’s Renovations knows this – and works with you to ensure they do a great job, while getting in and out of your home with the least interruption to your life possible.

Choosing the Right General Contractor For The Job

When you are looking for the right person to help with your next renovation project – you need to ensure the person you work with is a Florida-licensed Certified General Contractor, like Rominger’s Renovations.

Heath and his team have worked in the business for years and have dozens of high-quality jobs throughout the local area. You can see examples here.

Want more information on Rominger’s Renovations? Check out their website at Romingersrenovations.com, call their office at 850-517-0344 or email the team with your questions at info@romreno.com.