Made some good progress on our build-out project. In 2018, we bought our ugly old “fixer upper” home because it was undervalued at the tax office, but a cool location. I was turning 65 so I wanted to apply my tax freeze to a low value home with the potential for big equity growth.

Started with a 38’ x 33’ walkout basement that was originally permitted and built as a garage and workshop, later used as a storage area for Seadoo's, paddle boats and other toys. There were no interior stairs to reach the basement, so a large closet was sacrificed for a staircase. Now it's two more bedrooms, a bathroom, a family room, plus a laundry room, storm shelter, and storage.

We felt that there was no way we could make this cabin-style house modern, so we went rustic. I found the solid core knotty pine doors unfinished for $100 to $110 each. Staying with the rough/rustic theme, we chose to stain finger jointed paint grade unfinished pine casing and molding. Some people hate it, but I like it.

If you have decent tools, interior wall framing, drywall, electrical, HVAC and plumbing are pretty straight forward. But it’s also very slow when you are not a young man! I also discovered that concrete cutting for under-slab septic tie-ins is best subbed out. We chose 100% waterproof padded vinyl plank flooring and we used green drywall, that I hung with a 9/16” gap at the bottom to stay clear of any water intrusion. A big mistake I made was hiring a contractor to do the texture and paint. It will be a while before I finish redoing.

This area of the lake is rapidly being bought up by weekenders and investors so my layout intentionally provides an easy path for additions.
- Another bathroom can be easily added by absorbing some of the oversized laundry room. I already stubbed out the piping behind the new wall, including the toilet and shower drains.
- The family room can quickly become a fifth bedroom by adding one wall with a door.

The main living area upstairs is still 1970s and needs serious updating. But, we wanted to make a comfortable space for guests first, so downstairs was the priority. Now it's time to tackle the upstairs.

Link to progress pictures: Buildout for guests

Life is good in the cheap seat.

Very nice buildout!

Thanks, but it has taken a very long time and it was slowed even more when construction material pricing went through the roof!

Marc

Wow, that is outstanding work and looks great!

Only if you don't look too closely! The beauty of "rustic is that you claim that the imperfections were intentional.

After you are forced to tell contractors not to come back, you learn to do lots of things.

Thats awesome. You all did a great job

Did any of these improvements cause your tax freeze to be adjusted upward?

No, sir! Sadly, that is critical to me and I will not jeopardize it.

When I asked the Henderson County chief appraiser about how they gather information, I was told that they do not field investigate unless there is a really unusual huge problem. Their intel is based on MLS listings or obvious radical changes observable on Google Earth. If they "see" a really big obvious change, they raise the value and wait for you to challenge it. All of my renovations are within the building envelope so it will not change.

We do want to add a patio/BBQ/seating area facing the lake so I will eventually be discussing the impact with the county. If that gives them the ability to pierce the freeze on the whole amount, I won't do it.

Pretty sad situation in my view!

We are wanting to do the same patio cover/BBQ area. Sent e-mail to CAD asking about impact. The answer was new freeze amount with the covered addition. We are on the fence about it after getting an outrageous quote from a builder.

I have learned that in my county, patios, porches, garages/carports, and docks have a fixed tax $$ amount per sq. ft. It will not trigger a re-appraisal of the entire property and the additional amount will be frozen, once established.

Yep, it looks to me that material and construction labor costs are at an all-time high! (But what isn't?)