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Page 16 Spring Home Living Arthitect is a wise investment By Herb Lawrence Copley News Service There was the story making the rounds awhile ago about the remodeler who ended up putting the Jacuzzi in the kitchen and the stove in the bedroom. Hiat created some chuckles about bonehead mistakes that can be made in remodeling. But there's really nothing funny about the horror stories about residential remodeling mix-ups. Home owners will spend millions of dollars this year on home im­ provements. Based on past performances, a large number of them won't be happy with what they get for their money. That's why architect Homer Delawie, former 12-year member erf the San Diego Planning Commission, has some advice for people who want to have remodeling done. "I think the consumer can give himself the best protection by using an architect to design the remodeling project, whether it's adding space or just redoing what is already there," he said. "TYiat, I think, is the professional approach. "And the more professional you are, the more you are protected." Anyone who wants to remodel can call a local office erf the American Institute of Architects and get a list of architects who specialize . in remodeling, o "The property owner can then contact the architects and interview them," he said. "He can then select someone he feels comfortable working with." The home owner should tell the ar­ chitect exactly what is wanted and let the designer inspect the house and yard. Hiring an ^architect, Delawie said, is only the firststep in a process that will lead to a professional remodeling job without a rip-off. "The home owner should find out from the city government how much yard space can be used for expansion," ne said. "If it's unincorporated territory, then it's the county govern­ ment." The home owner then "should con­ tact different lending institutions to get the best possible loan rate" Tor remodeling, Delawie said. Local real estate prices also should be carefully checked through real estate brokers to determine how big the remodeling job should be, he said. According to Delawie, that step should be taken "because you don't want to create (through the remodeling) a $250,000 house in an area where the prevailing price might be around $80,000. That will make it hard to sell in the future in many cases." If an architect is retained to draw the plans for the remodeling, the'property owner can consult the architect on which contractor actually will do the work. "The architect can suggest names of reliable people," Delawie said. "And then the home owner can interview the contractors suggested." He said the home owner should look for a contractor with a good track record over a period of years. "The home owner also should go out and look at jobs the contractor has done and talk to the people who had the work done," he said. "They can also do this if they employ an architect." "They can check his work out and talk to people who used the architect. 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