Chelsea & Shamus: Evaluating options to add space

Meet Chelsea & Shamus: Parents, designers, and ten-year homeowners

Goal: Weigh the pros & cons of adding space to their current home or buying a new home

Chelsea & Shamus have lived in her current home in the Arts District of Charlotte, NC for ten years. They have loved raising their three children in this two-bedroom, one-bathroom home.

A couple years ago, they underwent renovation on their bathroom and kitchen. Chelsea was pregnant at the time, so the goal was to make the project as easy and quick as possible. Unfortunately, they ran into a few issues during the renovation. They didn’t know if the contractor was licensed and were unaware of how to evaluate different quotes, leading to a stressful and time-consuming process. 

With their kids growing up and their house starting to feel too small, Chelsea & Shamus had to make a decision — should they look for a new home and move, or add more space their current home?

To stay or to go?

They had a lot to consider when making the decision. They love their neighborhood and its community, but also needed to weigh the financial pros and cons. They were happy to discover Realm, which they felt was the perfect guide to help steer them in the right direction.

After watching several neighbors recently renovate their homes, Chelsea saw limitless options of how they could go about adding space. Realm analyzed 3 paths for her: a 1st floor addition, 2nd floor addition, and an attic conversion.

Keeping local zoning rules in mind, Realm’s analysis laid out the square footage allowed under each option as well the cost & home value impact. Realm’s report helped to clarify things for the couple. Chelsea said, "Realm took the emotion out of it and helped me to look at everything logically. They gave us more concrete answers of what our options were and how much we would have to put into it.” 

With Realm’s help, Chelsea & Shamus came to the conclusion turning this home into their dream home was a better option than trying to go out and find a new home, especially given the current state of the housing market.

Realm also helped to prepare the couple to take the next steps on getting started, with recommendations on local vendors who have completed similar projects nearby and advice on how to interview and vet these vendors for her project.

“Realm has actually provided us with scripts of what to say to contractors so we don’t come off as naive” 

Ultimately, Realm provided Chelsea & Shamus with the data & advice they needed to feel confident getting started. As a next step, they are working to source bids from contractors on the attic conversion and secure financing for the project.