THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 6, 1994 TAG: 9408040485
SECTION: REAL ESTATE WEEKLY PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SERIES: THE BIG MAKEOVER
Part one in a six-month series.
SOURCE: By Shirley Bolinaga, Special to Real Estate
LENGTH: Long : 202 lines
Can't find your dream house ready-made? Don't want to build from the ground up? The solution may be: innovate and renovate.
That's what some people are doing, either to homes they already own or to ones they buy. Dr. David Shulmister and his wife, Suzie, of Virginia Beach have joined the ranks of renovators.
A year ago, they were happy in their bay-front condo, but fearing that mortgage rates would soon rise, they decided to go house-hunting. They found their dream location and bought a modified Cape Cod-style house.
Now, they plan to spend some $140,000 to make extensive changes, including adding a great-room, a cook's dream kitchen, a breakfast room, a master bedroom and bath. Real Estate Weekly will follow their progress in a series of stories as their dreams go from blueprint to reality over the next six months.
When David and Suzie Shulmister looked at the property at the end of Tanager Trail in Birdneck Point, it was love at first sight.
But not for the house.
``This is the reason we did it,'' said David Shulmister, gesturing from his front yard toward the broad sweep of Linkhorn Bay, sparkling cool and serene on a hot summer's day.
It was in fall when the Shulmisters first saw their future home. An urgent call from a real estate agent warned them to act that day if they were interested because other prospective buyers were making offers.
David, an emergency room physician, barely had time to dash by on his way to work. He was there only 15 or 20 minutes.
It was enough.
``I didn't really pay much attention to the house,'' Shulmister said. ``Any house can be renovated.''
He and Suzie were sold on the view and the location - convenient but with a feeling of seclusion - despite the marina across a narrow finger of water on their south side.
They particularly liked the upscale Birdneck Point neighborhood, where narrow tree-lined streets wind around a golf course and the homes, many of them waterfront. It was an ideal neighborhood for jogging, biking and, eventually, pushing a baby stroller.
Like most love affairs, this one had its bumps.
They made an offer - one of four the sellers received - but lost out to a competitor promising all cash and a quick close.
The buyer planned to demolish the house and build a new one, David said. That's not unusual in desirable neighborhoods with old houses boasting deep-water access, he noted.
They went back for a last look. Two fighter jets roared by, low and loud. Water, driven over the crumbling bulkhead by a Northeaster, stood in the rapidly eroding yard.
There were even jellyfish in the yard. Their disappointment turned to relief.
Soon came another call: the cash deal had fallen through and the house was back on the market. Jets, jellyfish, rotting bulkhead, eroding yard - all were quickly forgotten.
The couple paid $240,000 for the three-bedroom house, knowing they would spend a lot more to make it the home they envisioned. Still they felt they were getting a good deal.
They had looked at other properties that cost more and offered less.
``I knew that today any house could be renovated,'' said David, 37.
Suzie, 30, had paid attention to the 2,800-square-foot house on the first visit. Like David, she was confident they could renovate it to suit their needs.
The 1948 house, well-built and structurally sound, had its own cozy charm. It boasted a large screened porch on the water side, pleasant living and dining rooms, and water views from several rooms.
Its 1.1-acre lot is pie-shaped, with the wider end - 315 feet - on the water.
The most urgent need was a new bulkhead to stop the front yard from further washing away. Even before closing on the house, the couple signed a contract, contingent on completing the purchase, to restore the front yard, replace the bulkhead and add a pier.
It took three months to get the permits. Engineers had to do plans, and the Shulmisters had to pay $600 to post a $45,000 surety bond to ensure the work would be completed.
Also, the Army Corps of Engineers had to approve the location of the dock. The couple even had to get the blessings of adjacent property owners for the project.
Construction finally started in April and was finished in about a month. One surprise came when the contractor, Marine Structures of Virginia Beach, discovered what it believes are the remains of an old boathouse hidden under water.
``They think someone just pushed it into the water a long time ago,'' David said. The debris had to be dug out and hauled away.
To help fill in their eroding yard, they were lucky enough to get about 35 or so dump-truck loads of topsoil free from a contractor who was excavating to lay utility pipes in a nearby neighborhood.
The wooden bulkhead and pier cost about $30,000, considerably cheaper than other estimates they had received. Best of all, they were happy with the results.
Redoing the inside of the house turned into a major project, costing more than they had originally envisioned. David jokes that he had cost overruns before construction even began.
``It's a nice house and it could be fixed up as it is, but it just doesn't capitalize on the best views,'' he said.
They moved in last January and had hoped to start renovations right away. They hired a designer to do plans for the changes, and that took more than three months. It took another three months to get bids and choose a contractor.
Meanwhile, they had discovered Suzie was pregnant with their first child. Last week, with the contractor ready to get under way, they moved to a rented condo so they would have time to settle in before the baby arrives next month. They will stay there until renovations are completed.
Their goal was to retain the house's desirable features, while modernizing it to fit their informal lifestyle and take better advantage of its beguiling water views.
The waterfront side will have a completely new profile. Downstairs, a new great-room, kitchen and informal breakfast room are designed so traffic can flow easily from one to another.
Their family and social life will revolve around this area. They particularly wanted the kitchen to be part of their living and entertaining space.
``When you are in the kitchen cooking, you are open to where your friends are and can see into the great-room and the breakfast room,'' said David, who enjoys cooking for friends. ``The whole feeling is wide open, very airy.''
The new great-room, with 9-foot ceilings and lots of windows, will be built where the screen porch is now. The kitchen will move to the present dining room, and the new breakfast room will be built over a patio adjacent to the screened porch. The breakfast room is designed with space for a play area for the baby.
The TV room, which used to be a garage, will be converted back to its original use. It will, however, retain the wide bay window, making it a garage with a water view.
Upstairs, over the great-room, will be the new master bedroom and bath. The bedroom will have a balcony looking over the water and stairs going down to the yard.
``Everything where we spend any time has a view of the water,'' David said. That includes the master bath, where even the shower will have glass doors.
Once the plans were done, they faced one of the most critical parts of the project: finding the right contractor. They queried everyone from their real estate agent to friends who had done renovations.
Finally, they narrowed the search to two contractors they really liked. Both had good references and seemed equally qualified.
They chose Steven W. Howell of S.W. Howell Contracting Inc. of Virginia Beach, who had done several jobs for an acquaintance. They particularly liked Howell's enthusiasm for the project.
``You could just tell he really had his heart in it,'' David said.
He offers a tip for contractors: Get your bids back to potential clients as soon as possible. If a bid had come in a month earlier from the other contractor they liked, they probably would have gone with it, he said.
David admits it's a little scary to undertake such an ambitious project.
``I get nervous thinking about how much it's going to cost,'' he said.
But Suzie likes the idea that the final house will bear their stamp and reflect their tastes and interests.
Aware of the caveat about overimproving a house, the Shulmisters carefully considered whether they could recoup their investment should they ever sell, she said.
``We think we could get our money out,'' she said.
Added David, ``You can't overdo in Birdneck on the water.'' MEMO: Next month, part two of the series will focus on the Shulmisters'
renovations and the project's contractor.
ILLUSTRATION: [Cover]
JIM WALKER/Staff
[Color Photo]
The Shulmister home now - front (inset) and back.
JIM WALKER/ [Color] Photos
Over the next six months, Dr. David and Suzie Shulmister plan to
spend about $140,000 renovating their Virginia Beach home, bought
for $240,000 last year. Their TV room, formerly a garage, will
revert to its original use but will keep the bay window.
The Shulmisters' dining room will turn into a kitchen, and the
adjacent screened porch will become a great-room with 9-foot
ceilings. Built in 1948, the house is in Birdneck Point.
Dr. David and Suzie Shulmister bought their home mainly because of
its waterfront lot. ``I didn't really pay much attention to the
house,'' David says. ``Any house can be renovated.''
The couple plans an informal breakfast room over the patio, and a
new master bedroom and bath on the second floor. Stairs will descend
from the bedroom to the back yard.
TO-DO LIST
Dr. David Shulmister and wife Suzie plan to make several changes
to their 2,800-square-foot home on Linkhorn Bay:
A great-room, with 9-foot ceilings and lots of windows, will be
built where the screened porch is.
An informal breakfast room will be built over a patio next to the
screened porch. The room will have a play area for the baby the
couple is expecting next month.
The kitchen will move to the present dining room. Both the
great-room and the breakfast room will be visible from the ktichen.
The TV room, formerly a garage, will be converted back to its
original use. It will retain its wide bay window.
A master bedroom and bath will be built over the great-room. The
bedroom will have a balcony overlooking the water and stairs leading
to the back yard.
by CNB