Home owners who are remodeling customers are in a quandary.

Most of them are satisfied with their remodeling contractor, but nearly the same amount are not.

That dissatisfaction comes at a time when more and more home owners are counting on remodeling to improve the value of their existing home, often because they can't afford to move up to such a home.

Two studies addressing the quandary, indicate that it behooves home owners to choose contractors carefully. A good start is seeking referrals to licensed and qualified contractors only from friends, family members, co-workers, colleagues, and other trusted individuals who've recently enjoyed a satisfactory home remodeling project.

First, the recently released Qualified Remodeler Magazine's 2005 Homeowner Satisfaction Survey of more than 750 remodeling customers, found that while 52 percent of them would hire the same remodeling contractor again, 48 percent of them would not.

The survey, conducted this spring by marketing, consulting and lead-generating firm Renex Inc. also found while 55 percent would refer their contractor to a friend -- indicating some of them are referring contractors they wouldn't use again -- 45 percent would not.

The magazine's survey comes on the heels of another survey by the online RemodelOrMove website and portal for those perplexed by the perennial move-up or fix-up decision.

Surveying 5,000 of it's website visitors -- those who are at least somewhat predisposed to performing remodeling work -- RemodelOrMove found that its visitors often see remodeling as an alternative to buying a move-up home.

"The data shows that homeowners are overwhelmingly leaning away from new home purchases in favor of remodeling the home they presently live in," the study says.

Sunnyvale, CA-based RemodelOrMove survey of home owners from around the nation found that those surveyed lived in their current home an average of 8.5 years, and plan to live in their current or next home for the next 18 years, on average, -- much longer than the 5 to 7 years other surveys have indicated as an average period for home owners to stay put.

"The boom in the housing market may be coming to an end. People may be at or close to their limits," said Dan Fritschen, the website's publisher who is not a contractor, real estate agent or moving specialist, but created the website after buying and remodeling several homes for his own family.

Fritschen says the cost of a new home and remodeling have both increased, but when it comes to remodeling it's an increase on a smaller dollar amount for work that could make a home more livable -- livability that may or may not come with the cost of a new home.

Fritschen's survey reveals the cost-factor is omnipresent among those in his survey.

• One in four plan to be their own remodeling contractor; 60 percent will do at least a portion of the remodeling work; and 1 in 3 of those who plan to move will sell their homes without an agent.

• One third of those who plan to remodel will spend 30 percent of their home's value on the project, which Fritschen says, is much higher than the industry-standard recommendation of 20 percent or less.

• Fifty percent of those surveyed said they want more rooms, including dens and bedrooms. More square footage is one of the best cost-vs-value projects home owners can perform -- today, even if the new home is a bit out of line with other homes in the neighborhood, given the demand for larger homes.

• Most, 60 percent, consider their bathrooms are inadequate and 50 percent want improved kitchens, again, wise choices when it comes to getting the most bang for remodeling bucks.

While home owners may be considering or making smart moves when it comes to home improvements, large numbers are not happy with the professionalism and workmanship of the remodeling contractors.

That means they may not be getting their's money worth.

Using a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being the worst score and 10 being the best, Qualified Remodeler's survey found that overall, homeowners rating remodelers -- on professionalism, timeliness, fair price and workmanship -- an aggregate score of "poor" or 6.29.

For specific jobs, the worst level of workmanship went to exterior work (4.74); whole house work (4.21) and additions (5.85). Professionalism got the lowest scores when remodelers performed whole house work (4.95) and room addition work (5.90).

"The report indicates there are two separate worlds of remodeling activity. There are those that are well-versed in business and display a wide variety of skills ... and there are those whose skills do not match the many challenges of completing remodeling and home improvement projects. The latter group is much larger," the Qualified Remodeler report said.

To level the playing field, consumers must choose remodeling contractors with great care.

Published: October 20, 2005

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A journalist for 35-years, Broderick Perkins parlayed an old-school daily newspaper career into a digital news service offering editorial content and consulting services. Perkins' San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group includes the flagship news site, DeadlineNews.Com, offering real estate, personal finance and consumer journalism, and a backshop, the Deadline Newsroom.