How To Survive a Remodel

This morning at our Sunnyvale/Cupertino Realtors' tour meeting, we had a presentation by Nancy Chillag, an attorney in Menlo Park who specializes in construction and real estate law. She talked about the pleasures and pitfalls of home remodeling, which she sees from both sides, because her husband is a licensed contractor. She stressed three basics: adequate planning and preparation, doing your homework, and having realistic expectations.She advised that having a 15% cushion in both timing and costs may be necessary, since projects more often than not take longer and cost more than the original estimate. She also stressed that if a contractor's bid is radically lower than his competitors, it's time to be suspicious. I bought a copy of her new book, an easy to follow, step-by-step guide to remodeling, called How to Survive a Remodel. It's available on her website, www./chillag.com, or through Amazon.