Who owns the plans?

We own the plans. We are not yet contracted to do the build with them. They've just given us floorplans so far, and we will be selecting finishes next week.

Personally, I would want all the work on the upper floor completed before the main floor. Have you thought about the logistics as to upstairs demo, as well as the traffic from the contractor, the plumber, the electrician, and others? And the amount of disruption and dust? In the case of plumbing and/or electrical, you may discover issues in the upstairs that will require access from the main floor.

Another reason is, it's a smaller project, and would give you an opportunity to vet this company's work, before you sign on for your much larger project.

In regards to a design/build firm, if you really are getting everything you listed for $210K, it seems very reasonable. You don't say what your location is, or if it's a HCOL area.

I would want the contract to spell out in minut detail EVERYTHING that is included, and everything that is NOT included.

People who have never remodeled before will often make assumptions, and set themselves up for major disappointments (and increased costs).

Have you spoken with anyone who has used this company to do an addition or build a home? Have you toured a home that has been done by the company? How much do you know about the quality of the work they do? Have you looked them up on social media, made inquiries through nextdoor or facebook? Have you gotten any quotes from other companies? Have you done the math to find out if you are better off spending $250k to improve this house vs buying another home? How much of a contingency budget does this have for the 'unknowns'.

There is no way to reasonably estimate the value without knowing your market.

Hi, Jennifer--we spoke to 3 families who used this company for major renovations and all were very happy with the work. They had a few minor complaints, but nothing that would deter us from engaging with the company. We also looked up ratings on social media, and have no major concerns. They seem like a reputable company that does good quality work. We got several other estimates, but all were from design/build firms. We're not so much concerned about the quality of the work this specific company will do, just more whether we should continue with a design/build firm or move to a less "all inclusive" company for the build phase, like a general contractor. I think this would require more work for us, so even if it costs less in $ it will probably cost us more in time. I'm trying to understand just what this would look like to be able to explain to my husband. We just bought the house this summer so there is no way that buying another house will be an option. We knew we were buying a fixer upper, and to find something in comparable size in our neighborhood that is already updated would have been way beyond our price range (far exceeding the $ we will spend to fix this house up). The houses we looked at nearby that were already "fixed up" were about 1,000 sq ft smaller and the same price we paid for our much larger house.

Mary Elizabeth, thanks for the suggestion! I think it's a great suggestion but unfortunately we are in the most need of renovation in the kitchen, so if we run out of money at some point, we could live with the bathrooms (as horrid as they are!) for a few more years, but could not wait out the kitchen. So I don't think that upstairs first will be an option. We did talk to the firm about replacing all electric throughout the house as part of the project (we currently have knob and tube throughout) but I will ask about the plumbing issues upstairs that may require more work downstairs as well. I did ask them for a breakdown of what will be covered in the estimate they gave us, and they will be giving line-by-line expenses at every stage once we pick our finishes and then sign a contract for the build phase. We are in a pricey neighborhood in a MCOL city.